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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: squash · land · degree · pop · rock · race · fan · lie

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. race — the arms race
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rock — a stone
  6. pop — music
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. degree — from a university
  9. race — a contest
  10. degree — temperature
  11. pop — soda
  12. race — humankind
  13. degree — an amount
  14. rock — music
  15. squash — the sport
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. pop — to visit
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. squash — to crush
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. fan — to cool the air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com